


A Special Case

by GuineapigQueen



Series: General Requests [1]
Category: South Park
Genre: M/M, talk of pet illness but with a happy ending, vet au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-05
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-01-25 11:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21355252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuineapigQueen/pseuds/GuineapigQueen
Summary: "I know we don't like each other but you're the best Craig. She's breathing bad, listen" Stan says, concern in his voice rising.Craig does, he can hear it when the room is silent. A very distinct rattle. Never a good sign on Guinea pigs, ever. Even a minor upper respiratory infection could kill a guinea pig and this sounds way beyond minor.
Relationships: Stan Marsh/Craig Tucker
Series: General Requests [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1539514
Comments: 4
Kudos: 46





	A Special Case

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from my friend BlekYnn, who wanted Staig and she kinda let me go wild with the idea of a vet au! I based all of Fudge's illness on my own guinea pig JawJaw, who was special needs and had such a rare condition that all we ever got for a diagnosis was some kind of heart defect. JawJaw passed last year after getting great care from the vets and living a happy life so I thought I might use his story in fic form. And before anyone says anything, yes the diagnosis wasn't something any of us wanted to hear but JawJaw got his happy ending in that he got to live another extra year and a half pain free and he was spoilt. So I still consider it a happy ending considering the circumstances. I tried to capture the joy we felt when our boy miraculously recovered and beat all odds.

It's just another day at the office for Craig. He's almost always booked out, and when he isn't he's being pulled for emergency consults. It's because he's one of the few small animal specialists in the area. It's a good thing he loves his job, he's basically married to it. He does little else outside work and always makes himself available just in case someone has an emergency. He's not only one of very few small animal vets, but he's also a qualified small animal surgeon. He's the only vet at his practice that can do Guinea pigs or other rodents. 

Craig knows some people don't like rodents. He doesn't really understand why, he thinks they're nuts. A lot of the vets at his practice don't discriminate and love all kinds of animals but most of them are garden variety vets. Like animal GPs, not specialists. Craig knows it's elitist of him bit he feels like he's earned it. He spent those extra years at school and worked hard for all his specialist qualifications, so sue him if sometimes if he feels like he's a bit more knowledgeable than the rest of his colleagues. 

He’s always loved guinea pigs and small animals. It was kind of his special interest as a child. It still is, he just gets paid for it now. He was at the pet shop with his mom, they were just there killing time, probably waiting for his dad or something. Animals are cute and definitely will entertain a demanding six year old. But Craig didn’t want to look at the cats or the dogs, he found the guinea pigs and he wouldn’t leave. His dad had to pick him up and carry him away. From that day forward he knew he loved them and he  _ wanted one.  _ He had to convince his parents but that was easy, when Craig is into something he gets super into it. He got guinea pig books out from the library and read top to tail, cover to cover how to care for them and when he’d read all the library books available to him he began reading them all again. It didn’t take his parents very long to cave, and well, guinea pigs were about all he talked about. 

He knew he was going to be a small animal vet, that was always the goal. He had to get his veterinary qualification first, then he moved on to his specialty. By then he wasn’t just interested in guinea pigs, even if they were his first love. He was into rodents, but since finishing his studies and starting practice he's become interested in other exotic pets like birds and reptiles. Rodents always remain his first and greatest love, but being a vet is a truly interesting job. He learns new things every day, especially as a specialist. 

The job is intense. He's almost always working, sometimes people drive several hours just to see him. He takes on a lot of emergency and difficult cases. He's treated a lot of guinea pigs with rare diseases, he can't always make a definitive diagnosis but his educated guesses are sometimes enough to keep his patients alive. There's more guesswork involved treating rodents, honestly, a lot of things can only diagnosed for sure on autopsy and a lot of people don't want their pet autopsied. So Craig has made peace with that sometimes a guess is all he's going to get. If the animal gets the treatment it needs Craig really doesn't mind. 

He shares the practice with more general vets though, like Stan. Stan's job is a lot more general than Craig's. Stan sees mostly cats and dogs and he deals with routine stuff like neutering to emergency situations like tick bites. He generally doesn't see complicated cases like Craig does. 

He always tries to talk to Craig. Like Craig has the time, and if he does get a lunch hour he's not spending it talking shit with Stan. It's annoying, but for the sake of the office he puts up with it. 

He does question whether he should move on to a specialist only practice sometimes though.

—

Craig is running around like a headless chicken today. Stan called in sick so they're down one vet and it means Craig has had to take on some of Stan's appointments. It means he's seeing less rodents and more run of the mill stuff. He loves animals but if he had a choice he'd rather be diagnosing a rare disease in a Guinea pig than giving a grumpy cat her yearly vaccinations.  _ Any  _ vet can do that. 

Craig is already in kinda a bad mood from all the grunt work he's had to do today. He doesn't take it out on his nurses though, he knows it's not their fault he instead internalises it. He'll probably vent about it to his roommate Tweek, who will probably be too stoned to remember the conversation tomorrow. Tweek will probably just tell him to chill and that he's being an asshole. Even if Tweek is kind of a drop kick, at least he's an honest one. Craig likes the blunt honesty much more than the jabbering small talk the vets like Stan try to make. 

He's grumpy but he's lowkey relieved when one of the nurses pulls him out of a consult. He's dealing with a dog with diarrhea so he's kind of happy a nurse will take over. 

"Got an emergency consult in room 6" she says.

Craig nods, first discarding his soiled gloves and making sure he is sterile. It must be a small animal if he's been pulled specifically. Craig is a little excited to be back in his element. 

"Hello, I'm Craig. What can I do for you to-" he stops in his tracks. His rehearsed spiel interrupted when he sees the owner is someone he knows. It's Stan. 

"Why didn't Annabel just say it's you?" He asks with a frown.

"Because I thought you might not see me if you knew" Stan says nervously, darting his gaze back and forth from Craig to the small carry cage on the examination table. 

"That's stupid, of course I'd see you… why wouldn't I see you?" He asks. He looks into the cage to see a small brown guinea pig huddled in the corner.

"Because you've made it clear you don't like me" Stan admits.

"I'm not that petty. I'm assuming your pet is very ill, if you're bringing them to me?" Craig dismisses him, continuing with the consult. What kind of vet would he be if he refused a pig based on his superficial dislike for their owner. 

"I know we don't like each other but you're the best Craig. She's breathing bad, listen" Stan says, concern in his voice rising.

Craig does, he can hear it when the room is silent. A very distinct rattle. Never a good sign on Guinea pigs, ever. Even a minor upper respiratory infection could kill a guinea pig and this sounds way beyond minor.

"How long has she been breathing like this?" Craig asks, getting her out of her cage. The crackling of her lungs worsens as she's moved. She squeaks with discomfort.

"Just today, I woke up to this noise" Stan says.

Craig takes his stethoscope and listens to her chest. The sound doesn't reveal anything diagnostically speaking, it just sounds horrible. 

"Sorry to be rude but are you sure? It's unusual for respiratory issues this advanced to come in in less than twenty four hours" Craig asks. He knows his bedside manner isn't the best but he's never seen anything come on so quickly this severely before. 

"I'm sure Craig. I've never seen anything like it" Stan promises. Craig decides to take his word. Stan may be annoying but he's passionate about his job, animals and his pets. He knows the importance of accuracy. 

"You don't see Guinea pigs" Craig quips "I'm gonna weigh her" he says, placing her on the scale. She's clearly lethargic and she doesn't fight him. 

"You know what I mean Craig" Stan says. 

"Well I think our best shot is just get her on strong antibiotics and if we can get her to a more stable state we'll x-ray her?" Craig asks for Stan's consent. 

"So you don't know what it is?" He asks, clearly worried. 

"I don't honestly, but antibiotics can be a catch all sometimes so maybe at the very least they'll improve her" he states, taking a breath as he gets to the hard part "but Stan, I have to be honest. This doesn't look good, few pigs survive a respiratory issue this advanced. So I guess I have to ask, do you want us to fight?"

"I mean… is there a chance?" He bites his lip. While the chance is small Craig has saved critically ill pigs before. He wants to try if Stan will let him. 

"There's a slim chance" Craig replies grimly. 

"Well, I wanna fight then. I have faith that you'll find out what's wrong" Stan says and Craig nods.

"I will do my best Stan" he says honestly "what's her name?" He asks. In the emergency he never asked. 

"Fudge" Stan replies, "Thank you, Craig" he says sincerely. 

"Of course" Craig says, taking her back to admit her.

—

Craig genuinely doesn't know what's wrong with Fudge. He knows it's dire though. He's managed to stabilize her overnight but he knows it's not permanent. He has to ask Stan to x-ray her, this is tricky because she's so fragile that she could actually die during the process. It's unfortunately not a pleasant experience and it's going to be stressful for her.

He lays it out for Stan on the phone. She could die from the stress of the x-ray but she will most definitely die if they don't act. Stan gives his consent over the phone and Craig gets to it. He has to enlist the help of several nurses but it gets done. Fudge, the trooper, crackles the entire time but survives. Craig loves this fierce little pig. 

He's poured over her x-rays though, and he's just as stumped as ever. He expected to see something in the lungs but they're clear. There's no foreign bodies in her nose and there's no signs of tumors or blockages. Craig is beginning to think maybe it's congenital, but he has absolutely no way to prove his hunch. All he sees on the x-ray is a slightly enlarged heart. Not enlarged enough to indicate anything serious or some kind of heart disease. Just a tiny bit enlarged.

He has to call Stan back and tell him that he hasn't got any answers. His advice is just to continue the antibiotics and hope that they catch whatever is making her sick. He starts her on a diuretic too, so there's no fluid build up in her lungs. 

Maybe twelve hours after he introduces the diuretic she begins to improve. 

Craig is baffled but he's ecstatic. 

—

Two days later he calls Stan in for a consult. He's guessing but he thinks he has some kind of vague idea what may be going on and has some ideas on how to treat it.

It's a lot of guesswork, and Craig doesn't actually have a diagnosis but he's pretty sure Fudge can live a little longer with his care.

"You said she's doing better?" Stan asks, in his own scrubs between appointments. 

"Yeah, so she's breathing almost normally now. She's eating, drinking and energetic. I'd say you can take her home today if you want" Craig grins. He's genuinely so surprised by this outcome, but so happy. 

"Really? Holy crap!" Stan is as surprised as he is.

"Yeah so, here's the thing. I think it's her heart, not her lungs. I can't say this for sure though Stan I'm sorry. This is one of those things I could only know for sure on autopsy and neither of us want that" Craig explains. 

"God, no. So what does it mean?" Stan asks, nodding along. 

"Well you know how in any animal the heart and lungs are very connected and symptoms for one can show up in the other?" Craig continues. He knows this is something Stan will understand as a fellow vet.

"Yeah" Stan says. 

"Well, my hunch is that she has a heart defect that causes fluid retention. So her lungs are absolutely fine, but the heart issue affects them" he keeps explaining. 

"So like, her heart is making her breathing bad?" Stan asks. He's bang on the money, Craig actually appreciates that he is a colleague here. Explaining something so rare and complicated to just a regular patient would be so much harder. Stan understands the significance here too. 

"Yeah essentially. I think this is something she's been born with and it's just taken this long to get critical" Craig says "so it's nothing environmental or anything."

"Can… what can we do?" Stan asks, knowing Craig is about to give him good news or bad news. It's a bit of both honestly. 

"I'm going to suggest we play with dosage but she stays on a diuretic for life. And Stan, I'm sorry to say this but her lifespan may be impaired but I think with treatment we can extend it at least a little" he says, hoping he sounds as sympathetic as he feels. 

"Ok, what do I need to do to help her live longer?" Stan says, staying strong. 

"Well, I'll give you antibiotics to give her until you finish the course and I'll give you a diuretic as well. You know how to give them right?" Craig asks, just wanting to be sure.

"Yeah, orally in the syringe?" He replies. Craig nods, smiling. This guinea pig is going to get the best care from Stan, he knows it. 

"Yeah, and I want you to bring her in to me once a week and we will check on her until we find a dosage we're happy with" Craig adds, he hopes Stan is as serious as he is. 

"Holy shit Craig, that's so complicated… thank you for finding it" Stan knows it can't be easy to diagnose such a small animal.

"I will be frank with you" Craig says "I don't know what she has in terms of a name. I know it's rare, I've poured over literature and found nothing. So what I'm saying here is educated guesswork but I think it's an extremely good guess" he says. He wants to be upfront with Stan. He doesn't know for sure and he doesn't want Stan to think he does. 

"Of course my guinea pig has a rare genetic condition. At least I'm a vet I guess" Stan says with a relieved laugh. 

"Stan you have the most interesting and special guinea pig I have ever seen" Craig says sincerely. He sees weird cases often but he's never seen this before. 

"Thanks, I know that's a huge compliment from you" Stan replies with a grin. 

"It is, and I promise you I am not giving up on her case. I'm going to work out her best treatment" Craig promises Stan. 

"Thank you Craig, seriously. This was beyond my expertise" Stan says. Craig feels weirdly humbled that Stan is willing to admit it.

"That's okay Stan, it's been a pleasure" he says sincerely. 

"So I can take her home today?" Stan asks.

"Yeah, take her home after work. Just come see me and I'll have your prescription" Craig assures him. He's so happy with this outcome. 

"I will, I can't thank you enough" Stan replies earnestly. 

"It's my job Stan, just like dogs and cats are yours. I know we both adore our work" Craig says happily. He gives Stan a kind smile. 

"We absolutely have that in common dude" Stan agrees. 

When they part they're both smiling. Craig hasn't had a day this good at work in a while. 

—

It becomes a thing. Stan brings in Fudge weekly and Craig pours over her file. He's diligent, takes down every detail and measures every dose with care. She's stable, they're just seeing how much they can lower the dose. They want her on as little as is safe. 

She comes off the antibiotics and does well without them so Craig decides to keep her on only the diuretic permanently. So far she is thriving. Before she was overweight with fluid, now she has lost all the fluid and is staying at a healthy weight. It's better than Craig could have ever predicted. 

"I'm not saying I've discovered a new disease" Craig says to Stan between appointments "but this is definitely the rarest condition I've ever seen."

"Maybe you should write a paper on her?" Stan suggests with a small laugh.

"Needs more research, but maybe in the future," Craig considers. He'd love to do a PhD some day. 

"I'd love to read it if you do, I know I'm not a Guinea pig specialist but I'm still interested in medical literature" Stan says. He sounds very sincere which surprises Craig a little, but not in a bad way. 

"I'd hope any good vet is, but I appreciate that about you" he says with a kind smile. 

"I mean, I wasn't the best at school but I'm good at actually doing the job, you know?" he explains. Craig gets that, while he himself is highly academic he saw plenty of people in his course in similar situations. People who were excellent at the practical of the job but struggled writing scientific papers. He gets that and he sympathizes. 

"That's what counts. Not everybody can do what we do, and you got that piece of paper just like I did" he says encouragingly. 

"I never thought I'd hear you say that" Stan says, clearly taken aback. 

"Well, I think I've learnt a lesson about judging someone without knowing them. I've enjoyed going on this journey with you" Craig admits. It feels nice to say it out loud. 

"Me too, you've just gone above and beyond for her" Stan agrees. 

"She's a very special case, I'm sure she'll live a longer and happier life now. And that is also down to your care, I know you will do everything for her" Craig replies. He's not lying either, compliance and dedication is a huge part of Fudge's recovery. Without Stan's diligence at home Fudge wouldn't have stood a chance. 

"I'll do my best, I'm just glad I happen to actually know a guinea pig specialist who sees rare diseases and stuff" Stan points out. And that's true, it's kind of fate they found each other. Fudge brought them together. 

"I'm equally lucky to have you, as I know you're just as dedicated as I am in regard to these things" Craig says warmly. 

"We're both lucky Fudge is such a fighter" Stan replies. Craig couldn't agree more. 

"Agreed, she's probably my favorite patient" he says, smiling.

"I'm glad. I really want to thank you though" Stan says, his tone getting a little more serious. 

"You've thanked me a million times, it's fine. I'll never say no to doing my job" Craig tries to dismiss. 

"We both know you went beyond that Craig" Stan says. 

"I guess it's just important to me" Craig shrugs. Stan isn't letting it go though. 

"Well, I was thinking maybe as a thank you I could take you to dinner?" He suggests. Craig can hear the mischief in his voice and it's very intriguing. 

"Like a date?" He asks dumbly. 

"If you still don't hate me, that is" Stan teases. 

"I never hated you I was just aloof" he replies. 

"Well, do you wanna?" Stan presses, still grinning. 

"Yeah okay, you're full of surprises Stan. I like that" Craig replies. He returns Stan's smile as they both head to their respective rooms for their next appointments. 

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is blesspastacraig if you wanna be friends :)


End file.
